Blog Tour & Giveaway: Review & Favorite Quotes of Have a Little Faith in Me

Title: Have a Little Faith In Me
Authors: Sonia Hartl
Publisher: Page Street Kids
Release Date: September 3, 2019
Genre: Contemporary, Young Adult, Romance, Religion, Realistic Fiction

Synopsis:

“Saved!” meets To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before in this laugh-out-loud romantic comedy that takes a meaningful look at consent and what it means to give it.

When CeCe’s born-again ex-boyfriend dumps her after they have sex, she follows him to Jesus camp in order to win him back. Problem: She knows nothing about Jesus. But her best friend Paul does. He accompanies CeCe to camp, and the plan—God’s or CeCe’s—goes immediately awry when her ex shows up with a new girlfriend, a True Believer at that.

Scrambling to save face, CeCe ropes Paul into faking a relationship. But as deceptions stack up, she questions whether her ex is really the nice guy he seemed. And what about her strange new feelings for Paul—is this love, lust, or an illusion born of heartbreak? To figure it out, she’ll have to confront the reasons she chased her ex to camp in the first place, including the truth about the night she lost her virginity

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If you are in the mood to read a novel filled with girls supporting girls AND sex-positive messages, look no further, Have a Little Faith In Me is the book for you. Set out to win her ex-boyfriend back, CeCe decides to mend their relationship by attending a Christian-based camp with him. Unbeknownst to her, her camp experience becomes more about self-acceptance, finding friendships in the unlikely places, and learning about healthy relationships. 

If you are a fan of very sarcastic and very direct characters, then CeCe will definitely win you over. Her personality comes off very honest, straightforward, and she has no filter. Although she is very opinionated and portrays some naive behavior, I liked that her story and personality evolve throughout the book, allowing CeCe to grow and understand the people and the world around her.

Overall, Have a Little Faith In Me is a page-turner filled with empowering messages of consent and sex-positivity. This book is funny, feminist, and contains one of my favorite young adult themes that we don’t see too often: females supporting females. 

Win a finished copy of HAVE A LITTLE FAITH IN ME by Sonia Hartl (US Only)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Sonia Hartl is a YA author who calls Michigan home, even though she’s lived in several different states. Her debut novel, HAVE A LITTLE FAITH IN ME is forthcoming from Page Street Publishing. When she’s not writing or reading, she’s enjoying pub trivia, marathoning Disney movies, or taking a walk outside in the fall. She’s a member of SCBWI and the communications director for Pitch Wars. She has been published in The Writers Post Journal and Boston Literary Magazine. She lives in Grand Rapids with her husband and two daughters.

TOUR SCHEDULE

Note: Thank you to the The Fantastic Flying Book Club for having me on this blog tour. And a huge thank you to Page Street Publishing for providing me an ARC to read and review for free in exchange of an honest review. All statements and opinions are my own. Please note that all quoted material is not final and may change in the final publication of the book.

Waiting on Wednesday: Songs from the Deep by Kelly Powell

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme that highlights pre-publication/upcoming releases that readers cannot wait to get their hands on. It is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

Title: Songs from the Deep
Author: Kelly Powell
Publication date: November 5, 2019
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy, Mystery, Historical

Synopsis

A girl searches for a killer on an island where deadly sirens lurk just beneath the waves in this gripping, atmospheric debut novel.

The sea holds many secrets.

Moira Alexander has always been fascinated by the deadly sirens who lurk along the shores of her island town. Even though their haunting songs can lure anyone to a swift and watery grave, she gets as close to them as she can, playing her violin on the edge of the enchanted sea. When a young boy is found dead on the beach, the islanders assume that he’s one of the sirens’ victims. Moira isn’t so sure.

Certain that someone has framed the boy’s death as a siren attack, Moira convinces her childhood friend, the lighthouse keeper Jude Osric, to help her find the real killer, rekindling their friendship in the process. With townspeople itching to hunt the sirens down, and their own secrets threatening to unravel their fragile new alliance, Moira and Jude must race against time to stop the killer before it’s too late—for humans and sirens alike.

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Top Ten Tuesday: Books I’ve Read That I’d Like In My Personal Library

Formerly hosted by The Broke and the Bookish and now hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

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This week’s topic is…Books I’ve Read That I’d Like In My Personal Library

(CLICK ON THE BOOK COVER TO BE LINKED TO ITS GOODREADS’ PAGE)

What books have you read and would love to own or put in your personal library?

Book Review: Iron and Magic by Ilona Andrews

Title: Iron and Magic
Author:  Ilona Andrews
Publisher: Nancy Yost Literary Agency, Inc
Release Date: June 26, 2018
Genres: Adult, Urban Fantasy, Paranormal, Romance
Source: Netgalley e-arc from publisher
Rating: ★★★

Synopsis:

No day is ordinary in a world where Technology and Magic compete for supremacy…But no matter which force is winning, in the apocalypse, a sword will always work.

Hugh d’Ambray, Preceptor of the Iron Dogs, Warlord of the Builder of Towers, served only one man. Now his immortal, nearly omnipotent master has cast him aside. Hugh is a shadow of the warrior he was, but when he learns that the Iron Dogs, soldiers who would follow him anywhere, are being hunted down and murdered, he must make a choice: to fade away or to be the leader he was born to be. Hugh knows he must carve a new place for himself and his people, but they have no money, no shelter, and no food, and the necromancers are coming. Fast.

Elara Harper is a creature who should not exist. Her enemies call her Abomination; her people call her White Lady. Tasked with their protection, she’s trapped between the magical heavyweights about to collide and plunge the state of Kentucky into a war that humans have no power to stop. Desperate to shield her people and their simple way of life, she would accept help from the devil himself—and Hugh d’Ambray might qualify.

Hugh needs a base, Elara needs soldiers. Both are infamous for betraying their allies, so how can they create a believable alliance to meet the challenge of their enemies?

As the prophet says: “It is better to marry than to burn.”

Hugh and Elara may do both.

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Oh boy, only Ilona Andrews could make me root for a villain that I passionately wanted Curran and Kate to destroy in the Kate Daniels series. As a spinoff of Ilona Andrews’ Kate Daniels series, Iron and Magic is the “where is he now?” story for Hugh d’Ambray, one of their worst enemies. And now, here I am sitting at the sidelines rooting for his redemption arc to unfold. He’s murdered, captured, and tortured some of my most beloved characters, but after reading Iron and Magic, I am now ALL IN for Hugh being free of Roland’s rule and Hugh creating a new life with a kickass witch named Elara.

Set up as a marriage of convenience book, Hugh and Elara do not get along. At the beginning, their chemistry is a small flickering flame fueled by loathing and angst, but by the end of the book, their flame ignites. And I am looking forward to seeing how their relationship develops throughout the series.

In Iron and Magic, Hugh often comes off as a self-adsorbed badass, but throughout the novel, he starts wearing his heart on his sleeve, portraying acts of kindness and protecting those who are unable to protect themselves. His faithful counterpart, Elara, lives by the rules but she also wants to protect her people at any cost. I love that she stands up to Hugh all the time throughout the novel. But as they are butting heads, they also start compromising and working together. Overall, I am so glad Ilona Andrews is writing this spinoff series, because I am already addicted and need more.

Note: A huge thank you to NYLA for providing me an e-ARC to read and review for free in exchange for an honest review. All statements and opinions are my own.

Blog Tour: Review & Favorite Quotes of All the Bad Apples

Title: All the Bad Apples
Authors: Moïra Fowley-Doyle
Publisher: Penguin
Release Date: August 27, 2019
Genre: Contemporary, Young Adult, Mystery

Synopsis:

The day after the funeral all our mourning clothes hung out on the line like sleeping bats. ‘This will be really embarrassing,’ I kept saying to my family, ‘when she shows up at the door in a week or two.’

When Deena’s wild and mysterious sister Mandy disappears – presumed dead – her family are heartbroken. But Mandy has always been troubled. It’s just another bad thing to happen to Deena’s family. Only Deena refuses to believe it’s true.

And then the letters start arriving. Letters from Mandy, claiming that their family’s blighted history is not just bad luck or bad decisions – but a curse, handed down through the generations. Mandy has gone in search of the curse’s roots, and now Deena must find her. What they find will heal their family’s rotten past – or rip it apart forever.

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Once again, Moïra Fowley-Doyle has created a beautiful atmospheric story filled with magic, mystery, and familial curses. All the Bad Apples includes twists and turns that are traced through letters, which provide details of the main character’s family history. A history sprinkled with cursed family members, also known as the bad apples. The letters include clues on how to break the curse placed on the family’s bad apples, but more importantly, the letters bring Deena one step closer to finding her missing, or thought-to-be dead sister, Mandy.

As an own voices novel, Moïra Fowley-Doyle fills the pages of All the Bad Apples with fictional but realistic accounts of unwed mothers, rape survivors, incest, abortions, racism, and the stigma encompassed in Ireland’s history and present day state. Deena’s story and the narratives of her ancestors are a bitter bite into reality; their stories and hardships reflect the oppression of women, orphaned children, and queer men that does not seem to go away over time.

As a contemporary novel embraced in history and elements of magical realism, Moïra Fowley-Doyle creates a jolting story—multiple accounts at that—filled with queer diversity, heartache, rage, feminism, and in the end, hope. Hope for change and a hope for equality across spectrums of sexuality, gender, and racism. All the Bad Apples will make your teeth clinch, your heart ache, and your eyes tear up—but overall it will leave a lasting impression that history is complicated. History is always changing but unfortunately forever repeating itself—a habit rooted in silencing those who do not conform or fit “traditional” standards.

Favorite Quotes:

“Sometimes you have to feel the past to believe it.”

“Some loves ignite like forest fires, burn down entire towns before anybody’s noticed. . . Some loves smolder like a turf fire, are slow to start but will then burn bright and steady through entire winters.”

“The more things change, the more they stay the same.”

“A good cup of tea is a witch’s brew,” the old women said together with wicked grins. “Heals all ills.”

“This is what a curse does: It takes a truth and twists it. It punishes those who don’t conform. It sets the parameters of conformity so narrow that few can actually stick to them.”

“You tell the story,” said Mandy slowly. “You tell your story and the story of your family. You speak your truth. You shatter the stigma. You hold your head up to the world and speak so that everyone else who was ever like you can recognize themselves. Can see that they aren’t alone. Can see how the past will only keep repeating itself as long as we’re kept powerless by our silence.”

Moïra Fowley-Doyle is half-French, half-Irish and made of equal parts feminism, whimsy and Doc Martens. She lives in Dublin where she writes magic realism, reads tarot cards and raises witch babies.

Moïra’s first novel, The Accident Season, was shortlisted for the 2015 Waterstones Children’s Book Prize & the North East Teen Book Awards, nominated for the Carnegie Medal & won the inaugural School Library Association of Ireland Great Reads Award. It received two starred reviews & sold in ten territories. Her second novel, Spellbook of the Lost and Found, was published in summer 2017, received a starred review from School Library Journal and was shortlisted for the Irish Book Awards.

 

TOUR SCHEDULE

Note: Thank you to the The Fantastic Flying Book Club for having me on this blog tour. And a huge thank you to Penguin Teen for providing me an e-ARC to read and review for free in exchange of an honest review. All statements and opinions are my own. Please note that all quoted material is not final and may change in the final publication of the book.

Waiting on Wednesday: Don’t Call the Wolf by Aleksandra Ross

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme that highlights pre-publication/upcoming releases that readers cannot wait to get their hands on. It is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

Title: Don’t Call the Wolf
Author: Aleksandra Ross
Publication date: April 28, 2020 
Publisher: Harper Teen
Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy

Synopsis

A forest, besieged. A queen, unyielding. Fans of Leigh Bardugo and Holly Black will devour this deliciously dark Eastern European–inspired YA fantasy debut.

When the Golden Dragon descended on the forest of Kamiena, a horde of monsters followed in its wake.

Ren, the forest’s young queen, is slowly losing her battle against them. Until she rescues Lukasz—the last survivor of a heroic regiment of dragon slayers—and they strike a deal. She will help him find his brother, who vanished into her forest… if Lukasz promises to slay the Dragon.

But promises are all too easily broken.

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Top Ten Tuesday: Favorite Tropes

Formerly hosted by The Broke and the Bookish and now hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

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This week’s topic is…Favorite Tropes

1. Enemies-to-lovers and hate-to-love romances
2. Brooding male leads
3. Characters that are bookworms
4. Second chance romances
5. Slow burn romances
6. Secret societies/secret magical worlds
7. Kickass female leads
8. “Breakfast Club”-like friendships
9. Myths and prophecies coming true
10. Characters with supernatural abilities/powers

What are some of your favorite tropes?

 

 

Release Blitz: Broken Knight by L.J. Shen

“Everyone needs to read this book. “

– Harloe Rae, USA Today bestselling author.

Broken Knight, an all new standalone about first loves, betrayal and loss from USA Today bestselling author L.J. Shen, is available now!

Not all love stories are written the same way. Ours had torn chapters, missing paragraphs, and a bittersweet ending.

Luna Rexroth is everyone’s favorite wallflower.

Sweet.

Caring.

Charitable.

Quiet.

Fake.

Underneath the meek, tomboy exterior everyone loves (yet pities) is a girl who knows exactly what, and who, she wants—namely, the boy from the treehouse who taught her how to curse in sign language.

Who taught her how to laugh.

To live.

To love.

Knight Cole is everyone’s favorite football hero.

Gorgeous.

Athletic.

Rugged.

Popular.

Liar.

This daredevil hell-raiser could knock you up with his gaze alone, but he only has eyes for the girl across the street: Luna.

But Luna is not who she used to be. She doesn’t need his protection anymore.

When life throws a curveball at All Saints’ golden boy, he’s forced to realize not all knights are heroes.

Sometimes, the greatest love stories flourish in tragedy.

Download your copy today or read FREE in Kindle Unlimited!

$2.99 for a Limited Time Only

Amazon: https://amzn.to/31NUvca

Amazon Worldwide: http://mybook.to/BrokenKnight

Pre-order the Audio edition now

(Available 8/25)

Amazon Audible: https://amzn.to/2HdgKQH

Amazon Audible WorldWide: http://mybook.to/BrokenKnightAudio

Add to GoodReads: http://bit.ly/2YbCrun

About LJ Shen

L.J. Shen is a USA Today, Washington Post and Amazon #1 Best-selling author of contemporary, New Adult and YA romance. Her books have been sold to nineteen different countries.

She lives in California with her husband, son, cat and eccentric fashion choices, and enjoys good wine, bad reality TV shows and catching sun rays with her lazy cat.

Connect with L.J. Shen

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorljshen/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/lj_shen

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/authorljshen/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authorljshen/

Stay up to date with L.J. Shen by signing up for her mailing list:

http://bit.ly/2umcYPg

Website: http://www.authorljshen.com/

 

Raves & Craves: Ziggy, Stardust and Me by James Brandon

Title: Ziggy, Stardust and Me
Author:  James Brandon
Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers
Release Date: August 6, 2019
Genres: Young Adult, LGBT, Historical
Source: Physical ARC from publisher

Synopsis:

The year is 1973. The Watergate hearings are in full swing. The Vietnam War is still raging. And homosexuality is still officially considered a mental illness. In the midst of these trying times is sixteen-year-old Jonathan Collins, a bullied, anxious, asthmatic kid, who aside from an alcoholic father and his sympathetic neighbor and friend Starla, is completely alone. To cope, Jonathan escapes to the safe haven of his imagination, where his hero David Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust and dead relatives, including his mother, guide him through the rough terrain of his life. In his alternate reality, Jonathan can be anything: a superhero, an astronaut, Ziggy Stardust, himself, or completely “normal” and not a boy who likes other boys. When he completes his treatments, he will be normal—at least he hopes. But before that can happen, Web stumbles into his life. Web is everything Jonathan wishes he could be: fearless, fearsome and, most importantly, not ashamed of being gay.

Jonathan doesn’t want to like brooding Web, who has secrets all his own. Jonathan wants nothing more than to be “fixed” once and for all. But he’s drawn to Web anyway. Web is the first person in the real world to see Jonathan completely and think he’s perfect. Web is a kind of escape Jonathan has never known. For the first time in his life, he may finally feel free enough to love and accept himself as he is.

A poignant coming-of-age tale, Ziggy, Stardust and Me heralds the arrival of a stunning and important new voice in YA.

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Hi everyone! Today I am hosting a Raves & Craves post for Penguin Teen’s Daring Debuts campaign! I hope you are ready for a yummy treat paired with a raving review of Ziggy, Stardust & Me by James Brandon.

My heart is so content and heavy by how unbelievably earth-shattering, tear-inducing, and beautifully written this book is. Ziggy, Stardust & Me reads like a song that you want to hear for the very first time all over again. James Brandon’s words will flood your soul with tears of sorrow and intense pride.

Set in the 1970s, this novel clinches the historical realities of corrupt government scandals, blatant racism, and the treatment of homosexuality as a mental disorder. Mesh these wrongs with abstract lyrics of self-acceptance, change, hope, love, and the perceptive of humanity, and you encompass the heart and struggles found in Ziggy, Stardust & Me.

Jonathan (also known as Johnny), the main character, is going through so many life-changing experiences at once, which sets up his adolescence in a galactic spin of hardships, falling in love, and finding self-acceptance. Ziggy, Stardust & Me will immerse your heart in a coming of age story that is very relevant to today’s young generation who, like Johnny, struggle to find their own voice and find pride in who they are.

One of my favorite parts of this book was watching the friendship and relationship develop between Johnny and his new classmate and American Indian friend, Web. They share a love for music, imagining the moon as their safe haven, and accepting ice cream as a peace offering. I was constantly highlighting and tagging scenes and quotes between these two characters. Some of my favorite quotes that inspired this blog post snack are:

“You know, Carl Sagan says we’re all made of star stuff. Everything is made of it. When stars die they fall into our atmosphere and turn into these chemical compounds that become things. Sometimes they become people.”
“Far out.”
“I know. I hope one day we’ll all see each other without these stupid labels and instead see each other for who we really are. Starfolk.”

“And remembering a quote President Kennedy once said: ‘We choose to go to the moon not because it’s easy, but because it’s hard.’
I think I finally get it now. It’s a lot like love, isn’t it? It’s hard work, but if you don’t give up and keep pushing forward, the rewards are infinite . . .”

“We can always go there, you know? To the moon. It’s safe at least . . .”

“Just us, remember? To the moon,” he whispers.

In reference to these beautifully written scenes, I was inspired to make my own bowl of comforting ice cream sundae. While Johnny’s favorite ice cream is bomb pops and Web’s are Push-up pops, I thought I would put my own “To the Moon” sundae spin with my favorite ice cream, cookies ‘n cream. 

Ingredients:

• Ice cream (vanilla)
• Oreo
• Cherries
• Sprinkles (stars and moons, if you got them)

Instructions:

Scoop up your favorite flavored ice cream and place it into a bowl. Then add all your favorite toppings. In this case, I have added large crumbles of Oreo cookies, cherries (because the flavor reminds Johnny of Web), and a sprinkle of stars to represent their friendship and being ever-loving starfolk.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

James Brandon produced and played the central role of Joshua in the international tour of Terrence McNally’s Corpus Christi for a decade, and is codirector of the documentary film based on their journey, Corpus Christi: Playing with Redemption. He’s the cofounder of the I AM Love Campaign, an arts-based initiative bridging the faith-based and LGBTQ2+ communities, and serves on the Powwow Steering Committee for Bay Area American Indian Two-Spirits (BAAITS) in San Francisco. Brandon is a contributing writer for Huffington Post, Believe Out Loud, and Spirituality and Health Magazine. Ziggy, Stardust and Me is his first novel. You can visit James Brandon at justbejb.com

TOUR SCHEDULE

Ziggy, Stardust and Me

Week One:

August 5 – The Book Bratz – Covers inspired by favorite singers
August 6 – Goblet of Fiction – Creative Instagram Picture
August 7 – The Quirky Book Nerd – Author Guest Post: What theme song would you choose for each character and why?
August 8 – Confessions of a YA Reader – Playlist
August 9 – Velarisreads – Inspired by the Book: Makeup

Week Two:

August 12 – Liv The Book Nerd – Review + Playlist
August 13 – The Nerdy Girl Express – Review
August 14 – Rants and Raves of a Bibliophile – Raves and Craves
August 15 – LGBT YA Catalog – Author Guest Post
August 16 – @booksandbrandy – Creative Instagram Picture

Note: A huge thank you to the Penguin Teen for inviting me on this blog tour and for providing me an ARC to read and review. All statements and opinions are my own.

COVER REVEAL: BROKEN KNIGHT by L.J. Shen

“Not all love stories are written in the same way.

Ours had torn chapters, missing paragraphs, and a bittersweet ending.”

Broken Knight, the highly anticipated new standalone in the All Saints High series from USA Today bestselling author L.J. Shen is coming August 25th, and we have the red-hot cover!

Luna Rexroth is everyone’s favorite wallflower.

Sweet.

Caring.

Charitable.

Quiet.

Fake.

See, under the meek, tomboy exterior everyone loves yet pities is a girl who knows exactly what – and who – she wants.

Namely, the boy from the treehouse, who taught her how to curse in sign language.

Who taught her how to laugh.

To live.

To love.

Knight Cole is everyone’s favorite football hero.

Gorgeous.

Athletic.

Jagged.

Popular.

Liar.

See, the daredevil hellraiser could knock you up with his gaze alone, but only has eyes for the girl across the street.

But Luna is not who she used to be. She doesn’t need his protection anymore.

When life throws a curveball at All Saints’ golden boy, he is forced to realize that not all heroes are knights.

Sometimes, the greatest love stories could flourish amidst the worst tragedies.

Add to GoodReads: http://bit.ly/2YbCrun

Sign up here to be notified FIRST when Broken Knight is live: http://bit.ly/2umcYPg

Photography by Andrew M. Gleeson

Model: Orri Helgason

About LJ Shen

L.J. Shen is a USA Today, Washington Post and Amazon #1 Best-selling author of contemporary, New Adult and YA romance. Her books have been sold to nineteen different countries.

She lives in California with her husband, son, cat and eccentric fashion choices, and enjoys good wine, bad reality TV shows and catching sun rays with her lazy cat.

Connect with L.J. Shen

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorljshen/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/lj_shen

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/authorljshen/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authorljshen/

Stay up to date with L.J. Shen by signing up for her mailing list:

http://bit.ly/2umcYPg

Website: http://www.authorljshen.com/